When The&Partnership came to us with this brief we knew it was going to be a very special project. There was already a strong sense from the agency that it was of paramount importance to put the subjects at the heart of the writing process, and this was exactly in line with how Jesse likes to work. As such we put everything into the casting of this spot, searching far and wide for someone who had lived the experiences we wanted to convey in this film. This led us to Eli, a 26 year old non-binary actor from London, who has lived with sight loss for most of their life. Jesse and the amazing creatives at TAP felt that it was important to put their real world experience at the heart of the story, rewriting the script to fit Eli's story. The result is a heart-wrenching film which faithfully tells the story of just one of the many heroes living with ocular conditions. We hope this film will raise awareness about people living in the shadow of sight loss and raise the cultural visibility of this worthy cause.

Jesse Lewis-Reece is a BAFTA-nominated, multiple award-winning writer/director from Brighton. Working across Narrative Film and Television Commercials, his work has been screened worldwide across multiple renowned festivals and award shows. Jesse is currently in production with the BFI on a new narrative short shooting in 2022 as well as penning his first feature. His awards include Eyelash - Kinsale Sharks Awards, Grand Prix Short Film Award - 2022 Eyelash: BAFTA Nomination, Brtish Short Film - 2021 Eyelash: Best British Short UK Film Festival 2021 Eyelash: OnePointFour Awards Best Short Film Gold Award - 2021 Eyelash: BFI Future Film Festival Official Selection - 2021 Eyelash: Vimeo Staff Pick - 2020 Eyelash: Little Wing Film Festival Official Selection - 2020 Eyelash: Aesthetica Short Film Festival Official Selection - 2020 Eyelash: Berlin Commercial Awards, Craft Award: Idea - 2020 Eyelash: Berlin Commercial Awards, Craft Award: Directing - 2020 Eyelash: Berlin Commercial Awards, Craft Award: Casting - 2020 Eyelash: Berlin Commercial Awards, Craft Award: Cultural Impact - 2020 Eyelash: Young Director Award, Gold: Producers Award - 2020 Eyelash: Young Director Award, Gold: Judges Jury Award - 2020 Eyelash: Young Director Award, Gold: Passion Project - 2020 Eyelash: Young Director Award, Gold: Short Film Under 6 Minutes - 2020 Eyelash: Young Director Award, Gold: Director - 2020 Eyelash: BFI Flare Official Selection [BAFTA Qualifying] - 2020 Eyelash: Shiny Awards Shiny List - 2020 Eyelash: Thunderdance 2019 Best Short Film - 2019 Bleach: Iris Prize Best British Film Nomination [BAFTA Qualifying] - 2018 Bleach: Norwich Short Fest Official Selection [BAFTA Qualifying] - 2018 Bleach: The Smalls Short Fest Official Selection [BAFTA Qualifying] - 2018 Bleach: BFI Flare Official Selection [BAFTA Qualifying] - 2018 Bleach: Royal Television Society National Judges Jury Award - 2017 Bleach: Royal Television Society National Best Short Film - 2017 Bleach: Royal Television Society National Best Cinematography - 2017 Bleach: Royal Television Society Regional South Best Short Film - 2017 Bleach: SQIFF Official Selection - 2017 Bleach: TIDE Short Fest Official Selection - 2017 Bleach: Rainbow Film Fest Official Selection - 2017 Bleach: Cinecity Brighton Official Selection - 2017